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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · firm · root · degree · game · tube · trunk · fan

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. firm — a company
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cold — not warm
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — decided
  12. degree — from a university
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. firm — steady
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tube — a container
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. root — the cause
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. root — of a word
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com